HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 S Wireless Gaming Mouse Review: Light and Fast

The light, fast, and smooth HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 S Wireless Gaming Mouse more than justifies its existence in an oversaturated category. Just be sure to pair it with the right mousepad.

Weight

0.14 lb

Sensor and DPI

HyperX 26K Sensor

Switches

HyperX Switches

RGB Lighting

Yes

Although not the most ergonomic design for everyday use, this mouse has the build quality, speed, and responsiveness to take your gaming to the next level.

Pros & Cons

• Light, fast, and smooth
• Onboard USB dongle storage
• Easy-to-use Windows software
• Grips and extra skates included

• Can move too fast on some surfaces
• Basic shape may not be the best for everyday usage

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Price and Availability

The Pulsefire Haste 2 S Wireless Gaming Mouse is available directly from HyperX for $150. In the box is the mouse, 2.4 GHz USB-A wireless dongle, USB-C to USB-A extension adapter, USB-C to USB-A cable, grip tape, spare standard mouse skates, and quick start guide.

Premium Materials and Feel

Available in two colorways, Navy or Silver, the Pulsefire Haste 2 S is HyperX’s most expensive and feature-packed mouse in the Pulsefire series. Even before any discounts or sales, the $150 price is in line with other pro gaming mice like the Razer Viper V3 Pro, which shares a similar basic shape.

The magnesium alloy shell adds some nice rigidity, but the Pulsefire Haste 2 S is still featherweight at just 2.26 oz (64g). For comparison, my daily driver mouse, a Logitech G502 X Plus with charging puck, clocks in at a relatively beefy 3.88 oz (110g) and feels more sluggish, in part, because of it. Although you can find mice in the 1.6 oz range, I’d argue you wouldn’t want to go much lower than what’s on offer with the Pulsefire Haste 2 S as it would become too light to reliably control for most use cases.

On the top of the mouse are two translucent left and right-click buttons measuring about 2.62 inches (6.65cm) diagonal at their longest points, with a width of about 1.08 inches (2.74cm). Despite the generous size of these buttons, they’re easy to click and fast to respond anywhere they’re pressed thanks to the quality HyperX Switches. There’s a slight texture on the lower fourth of each of these buttons.

Between the mouse buttons is a clickable scroll wheel that features programmable RGB lighting on its outside rings that give off a strong “Tron Lines” aesthetic. Below the scroll wheel is a DPI button, with programmable presets ranging from 200 to 26,000 DPI. On the left of the mouse are two programmable side buttons that default to forward and back buttons. On the front of the mouse is its USB-C port.

Underneath the mouse are four pre-installed HyperX Glass Skates, which are super smooth. A replacement set of skates is included, but these are standard adhesive-backed skates so they likely wouldn’t glide quite as smoothly. In the center is the HyperX 26K Sensor for tracking the movements of the mouse, which itself is surrounded by a pre-installed standard adhesive-backed skate.

To the lower left of the sensor is the mode switch for Bluetooth 5.1, USB-C wired, or 2.4GHz wireless modes, the latter of which requires the included dongle. Thankfully, HyperX includes a convenient storage area for the wireless dongle on the bottom underside of the mouse so you’re less likely to misplace it, particularly when traveling.

Easy Configurability and Pure Gaming Performance

HyperX specifically mentions compatibility with PC, Sony PlayStation 5, and Microsoft Xbox Series X|S, but the Pulsefire Haste 2 S will work with almost any device that’s compatible with a standard mouse either wired, Bluetooth, or with the 2.4 GHz USB-A wireless dongle. What doesn’t work with just any device is the HyperX NGENUITY utility software, which requires Windows 10 or higher.

With NGENUITY, you can configure the RGB lighting on the scroll wheel, program the buttons, set the sensor DPI, and pick the lift-off distance. The RGB lighting can be set to any color and have solid, breathing, or cycled color effects applied, each with adjustable opacity and brightness. If you have other HyperX devices that work with NGENUITY, you can also synchronize the lighting effects.

The two top mouse buttons, as well as the two side buttons, can be reassigned to any key. While I kept my left and right mouse buttons the same, I reassigned the side buttons to page up and page down, respectively.

There are four default DPI settings, each with a unique color, which can be cycled through, in sequence, with the DPI button. You can add additional DPI levels, delete DPI levels, and assign your own custom colors. For someone like me, I tend to stick to a single DPI setting, in this case 1,600, but I can’t help but appreciate the configurability, flexibility, and how easy it is to select DPI levels for different use cases.

As mentioned, my daily driver is a Logitech G502 X Plus, which I use on a hard surface. For better or worse, the Pulsefire Haste 2 S glides so smoothly, and thus quickly, that it’s very difficult to control on that same hard surface. Instead, I switch to a cloth surface, which slows the Pulsefire Haste 2 S down just enough to stay in control for competitive online games like Fortnite.

To continue with Fortnite as an example, I can move my targeting reticule as quickly as I want, but can still quickly stop in place when I want, just as long as I use the right mouse pad. Although I’m not exactly a competitive pro gamer, I at least feel more competitive when using this mouse, not only with its movement, but also with the sure button presses. Again, even if my hand slips a bit in the heat of action, the buttons still respond regardless of where I press them. This mouse feels like a real competitive advantage.

Similarly, I have no reservations about using the included 2.4 GHz wireless dongle instead of going wired. My tests show the dongle easily hits the expected 1,000Hz polling rate (1 time per millisecond), with nary a drop or stutter. While you can get mice that have much higher polling rates, like the 8,000Hz (8 times per millisecond) found on HyperX’s own Pulsefire Haste 2 when used wired, it’s debatable if such a difference is even noticeable in use and whether the extra drain on system resources is worth it.

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And for those with compatible GeForce graphics cards and monitors, the Pulsefire Haste 2 S is NVIDIA Reflex Validated, which further minimizes system latency.

Although I will happily sing the praises of this mouse for competitive gaming, I’m a bit less enamored with it for regular usage. It works just fine, obviously, with smooth movement and sure button presses, but the basic shape is not my favorite for all-day comfort versus something with a bulkier ergonomic design like the Logitech G502 X Plus. With that said, every time I want to play a game on my PC, I wouldn’t even think of using the Logitech over the Pulsefire Haste 2 S.

The Pulsefire Haste 2 S’s battery life is also worthy of mention. Thanks to various optimizations and minimal lighting effects, you can get up to 120 hours between charges. Even better, if you do run out of power, you can get up to 18 hours of usage from 10 minutes of charging, which is just enough time for a quick breather between competitive gaming sessions.

Should You Buy the HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 S Wireless Gaming Mouse?

The basic shape, feather weight, and ultra-fast tracking speed of the HyperX Pulsefire Haste 2 S Wireless Gaming Mouse don’t make it an ideal daily driver. I’d much rather use a slower, heavier, and more ergonomic mouse for day-to-day computing. When I game on my PC, however, the Pulsefire Haste 2 S is exactly what I want in my hand for that competitive edge.

The pre-installed HyperX Glass Skates are a marvel of minimal friction on all surfaces, and arguably even too fast when used on hard, rather than cloth, mousepads. The magnesium alloy body has just the right rigidity. I also genuinely love how responsive the two mouse buttons are, regardless of where I press them. The generous battery life and no-compromise wireless performance round out a great feature-set, as does its ability to connect with additional devices either wired or over Bluetooth with a simple switch. It’s a pure gaming mouse done right.

Weight

0.14 lb

Sensor and DPI

HyperX 26K Sensor

Switches

HyperX Switches

RGB Lighting

Yes

Although not the most ergonomic design for everyday use, this mouse has the build quality, speed, and responsiveness to take your gaming to the next level.